| | The families of mushrooms and toadstools represented in Britain and Ireland |
Including Gloeocystidiellaceae
Morphology. The fruit-bodies producing basidia and basidiospores; persistent; differentiated into a stipe and pileus with the hymenium underneath the latter, or attached laterally and bracket-shaped (then the pileus often zoned), or flattened and more or less appressed to the substrate or encrusting, with the hymenium on the outside (then appressed or effused-reflexed; gloeoplerous hyphae present only in Gloeocystidiellaceae?); small to medium sized; 1–4 cm broad but wider, in the species illustrated. The hymenium with pegs or spinose (at least, tuberculate or warty), or smooth. Cystidia present; gloeocystidia, or skeletocystidia, or gloeocystidia and skeletocystidia. The basidia ‘unmodified’. The basidiospores ballistosporic; hyaline; smooth; usually amyloid.
The hyphal walls lamellate, with a thin, electron-dense outer layer and a relatively thick, electron-transparent inner layer. The hyphae dimitic (usually, with skeletohyphidia), or trimitic (rarely). The generative hyphae not inflated.
Chemical reactions. The context hyphae not xanthochroic.
Ecology. Saprophytic, or parasitic and saprophytic; on vascular plants (including S. purpureum, causing “silver leaf disease” of plum trees). The fruit-bodies not subterranean; borne on the ground, or on dead wood and on living wood (or on bark). Found in broad-leaved woodland, in mixed woodland, in coniferous woodland, and in places modified by human activities.
Representation in Britain and Ireland. About 40 species in Britain; Aleurodiscus, Amylostereum, Boidinia, Conferticium, Gloeocystidiellum, Gloiothele, Laxitextum, Megalocystidium, Scytinostromella, Stereum, Vesiculomyces, Xylobolus.
World representation. 124 species; genera 22. “Widespread”.
Classification. Basidiomycota; Basidiomycetes; Agaricomycetidae; Russulales (formerly Stereales).
Illustrations. • Stereum hirsutum, Stereum rugosum and Stereum sanguinolentum (LH). STEREACEAE. 1, Stereum hirsutum; 2, Stereum rugosum; 3, Stereum sanguinolentum (the blood-red streaks being wounds). Sunesen & Dahlstrøm, in Lange & Hora (1965). • Stereum hirsutum (Berkeley). STEREACEAE. 7, Stereum hirsutum (Willd.) Gray. FISTULINACEAE. 1, Fistulina hepatica (Lightf.) With. (Beefsteak Fungus). HYDNACEAE. 2, Hydnum repandum L. MERULIACEAE. 3, Mycoacia uda (Fr.) Donk. THELEPHORACEAE. 4, Thelephora anthocephala (Bull.) Fr.; 5, Thelephora mollissima Pers. EXIDIACEAE. 6, Sebacina incrustans (Pers.) Tul. & C. Tul. From Berkeley (1860).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2008 onwards. The families of mushrooms and toadstools represented in Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
